Thomas Knowlton

Thomas Knowlton (22 November 1740-16 September 1776) was a Lieutenant-Colonel of the Continental Army of the United States during the American Revolutionary War. He is the father of American intelligence, with Knowlton's Rangers becoming the main intelligence force of the American Patriot cause.

Biography
Thomas Knowlton was born in 22 November 1740 in West Boxford, Massachusetts, in the Thirteen Colonies. In 1755 he joined the British Army at the start of the Seven Years' War and served under Isaac Putnam in the 1762 Capture of Havana in Spanish Cuba. In 1763 he became the representative of Ashford, Connecticut in the Board of Selectmen, and in 1775 he formed his own company to fight in the American Revolutionary War as a part of the 5th Connecticut Regiment. He joined General William Prescott's army at Charlestown, outside of Boston, and fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. In 1776 his unit became known as "Knowlton's Rangers", an intelligence agency of the Continental Army that included spy Nathan Hale. On 16 September 1776, his rangers served as light infantry during the battles for New York, and he was killed in battle with the Black Watch unit of the British Army. Knowlton's unit is famous for being the first intelligence agency, and in 1995 the Military Intelligence Corps created the LTC Thomas Knowlton Award.